Nicks confident Crouch will stay with Crows

ADELAIDE senior coach Matthew Nicks is “confident” Matt Crouch will remain at West Lakes, but concedes that the gun onballer was less than happy at being offered a twoyear deal by the Crows.

The Crows have offered the 26-year-old, who didn’t play an AFL game in 2021 because of injury, a two-year deal to remain at West Lakes.

Nicks said he wanted Crouch to remain at the club, but conceded the offer of twoyears hadn’t exactly pleased the prolific midfielder.

“Insulted is a harsh word but that’s what we are working through with Matty,” Nicks said on SEN SA when asked if Crouch was insulted by the offer.

“And I totally understand where Matty is coming from, we’ve had open dialogue around this for months now.

“And there is always going to be a balance in negotiation between player and footy club as to what works.”

Crouch’s brother Brad left the club through free agency last off-season, but Nicks said he was bullish that a second member of the family wouldn’t depart West Lakes this year.

“We are working through that, I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t taken a bit longer (than expected) and I’m a little concerned but I want Matty at the football club, he wants to be at the footy club,” Nicks said.

“Our challenge now is to make that work, it is around some security and I understand that.”

Nicks himself has conversations around deal.

He also said that while he wants Taylor Walker to be at the club next year, the former captain is no guarantee to report for day one of pre-season training in November.

Walker is serving a sixgame ban for using a racial slur towards North Adelaide’s Robbie Young. parked a new

Matt Crouch of the Crows.